Incognito
by Thalia Kendall
Summary: Mediwitch Su Li meets a secretive, oddly charming young man in the Leaky Cauldron. Yes, folks, another Cassius Warrington and Su Li oneshot from me.


A/N: This was written for the lovely ChainedDove. Su Li/Cassius Warrington. Yes. My penchant for obscure character ships. But we all know this.

Disclaimer: I gave Warrington a personality. Which he did not have in the books. And yet, he is not mine and never will be. How sad. But what is even more sad is that people actually read fecking disclaimers. Blah.

~*~ Incognito ~*~

The patrons inside the Leaky Cauldron all looked up when the door to the pub swung open abruptly, and a rather harried-looking young woman, dressed in the uniform of a St. Mungo's mediwitch, strode in and made a beeline for the bar.  
  
Plopping down on a stool next to a young man, who despite it being evening and the fact that he was indoors, wore sunglasses on his face, the woman called out, "Firewhiskey. Now."  
  
As Tom set a glass of the amber liquid down in front of the woman, who looked younger than her 24 years, the young man swiveled around to face her, a smirk at the corners of his lips.  
  
"Tut tut... who broke your heart?" he asked, his voice with a slightly mocking, though not malicious lilt. The woman whirled around to face him, her dark eyes blazing.  
  
"Oh please... what do you take me for?"  
  
"Well... if you're not drowning your sorrows in typical melancholic romantic manner... then what are you up to, Miss... Su Li?" he asked, taking a glance at the name embroidered on her uniform. "I'll assume that you're not a drunk."  
  
"And what if I were?" she smirked, the effect ruined by the general sweetness of her young Asian face. She'd had a long day... it had been her first delivery, working in the maternal ward of St. Mungo's... and it had been twins. She had been working frenetically for six hours straight. Now, she just wanted a drink. And sleep. But perhaps a random, inane conversation with a stranger might be... well, a change from the world of science and emergencies and spells and statistics.  
  
"You're not. Your eyes are not bloodshot, you're employed at a hospital, and... you didn't exactly _stagger_ in." He gave a somewhat cynical laugh, "You're not a drunk. I've seen drunks before... and if _you're_ a drunk, then _I'm_ a Hufflepuff."  
  
She looked at him curiously. He was dressed in flowing, open black robes, a smoke-gray shirt visible underneath. He wore silver sunglasses.  
  
She had no idea who he was, but... the smirk, the rather smoothly sarcastic, jaded tone of voice. No, definitely not a Hufflepuff. Either an Auror... or a Slytherin.   
  
And he didn't give off righteous Auror vibes.  
  
"Right then," she cocked her head at him and took a sip of her drink, "You're a Slytherin, aren't you? What's your name?"  
  
"Does it matter?" he asked, a bit evasively. Secrecy. Definitely a Slytherin. "We're just two people... who don't know each other. Who are having a rather pointless but interesting random conversation in a pub."  
  
"All right, I suppose," Su shrugged, taking another sip of her drink.  
  
"Tom, some honey biscuits for the lady please," the young man called out, somewhat imperiously.  
  
Su looked at him, rather surprised. He smirked again. "You're a mediwitch. Drinking... on an empty stomach? Tsk tsk..."  
  
Su smiled sweetly, baring her teeth a little, "I hope you're not trying to be _overbearing_ around me..."  
  
"Wouldn't think of it," he laughed. The biscuits arrived, and he laid a handful of coins on the table, while sliding the plate towards Su with his other hand. "So... back to the original topic of conversation. Who broke your heart?"  
  
"No one," Su rolled her eyes, "That's rather pathetic. And I don't have time for such silly girlish nonsense anyway. Just had a long day at work, that's all. Delivered a set of twins to a woman about the size of a sixteen year old... "  
  
"Poor Malfoy," the man muttered to himself, chuckling softly, "Must have gotten an earful for _that_... but he's probably in such a state of 'happy new father' euphoria that he's forgotten."  
  
Su stared at him now, setting her drink down. "How did you know that? Who _are_ you?"  
  
"An old friend of our esteemed ex-ferret, you might say." Again with the evasive answers. Su frowned somewhat, chewing absently on a biscuit.  
  
"Are you a criminal or something?"  
  
He laughed openly at that, a low, husky sound. Then, he leaned over slightly, lowering his voice. "What if I was?"  
  
"I'd have to break this glass over your head, then hit you with a Stunning Spell," she answered matter-of-factly, a slight grin on her face.   
  
"I see. I'm not... so sorry, you won't be able to test that little stunt." His voice was full of amusement.  
  
Su snerked, "That's all right. I'll live."   
  
"Excellent," he finished his own drink and stood, paying Tom. With a mocking half-bow, he took Su's small hand in his larger, tanned and calloused one, laying a brief kiss on the knuckle. "Farewell, Miss Su Li."  
  
And with a swish of black cloak, he was gone, and Su was left alone, looking at the spot where he had been a moment ago, her drink half-finished and forgotten.  
  
How curious.

***

  
  
"The babies are healthy, and you seem to be doing quite fine," Su gave the redheaded woman sitting up in the hospital bed an encouraging smile. "You're free to go, Mrs. Malfoy. I'll go get your husband."  
  
Saying so, Su left the room, walking towards the lobby. Draco Malfoy had been sitting, in conversation with another man, who was not visible at all from her vantage point except for the top of his head... dark hair. Malfoy sprang up when he saw her, and walked over.  
  
Su briefly gave the blond man the details on his wife and new children, and the former Slytherin Seeker gave her a curt nod in thanks before striding down the hall towards his wife's hospital room.  
  
"So, we meet again, Miss Su Li."  
  
Su turned, eyes wide. That voice. The man in the Leaky Cauldron. Black robes. Tall, stalwart. A crisp white shirt today. Sunglasses... but he was lifting them slowly off his face.  
  
Her eyes widened. She'd certainly seen that face before, on the Magical Games and Sports section of the Daily Prophet... Chaser. Falmouth Falcons...  
  
He stepped up to her, proffering a hand with a slightly cheeky grin on his handsome face. "Cassius Warrington. A pleasure."  
  
"You're not a criminal; you're a celebrity." So that's the reason for the secrecy. Privacy. Lack of interruptions from fans...   
  
His lips quirked at the corners. "Smart girl."  
  
She snerked at that, saying tartly, "I'm no longer a girl. Just because I _look_ younger than I am..."  
  
"I'm quite well aware that you're no longer a girl," he said blandly, giving her a piercing look. "You... are the same age as Malfoy. Making you 24. Which is only two years my junior."  
  
"So, you needn't patronize me," she smiled sweetly up at him, an eyebrow raised.  
  
"'Smart girl' sounds better than 'smart lady'," he replied coolly, glancing at his watch. "But I shall not detain you from your duties any longer... as I must leave as well."  
  
Su nodded briefly, watching in silence as he picked up what appeared to be a duffel bag from where he'd been sitting. And then, a question emerged from her lips before she could check it.  
  
"So... do you go to the Leaky Cauldron a lot?"  
  
He gazed at her fixedly, and did not speak for a few moments. She was just about to walk away without an answer... when he smiled. A real smile. Something rare for a Slytherin.  
  
"I might start going more often in the future."  
  
He Disapparated a moment later, but not before he had a glimpse of her smiling as well.


End file.
